


Horizon

by The_lovely_noodles



Series: Unfortunate [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: ;), Angst, Gen, I'm Bad At Tagging, Keith is happy to oblige and also wants hugs, Non canon compliant, Or Is It?, Platonic Sheith, Post Season 6, Shiro wants a lot of hugs, Touch Starved Keith, Touch Starved Shiro, Touch-Starved, badthingshappenbingo, but like... Shiro angst, but nothing bad really happens lol, consequence of being in the black lion, for the bad things happen bingo, just publishing, just some weird bittersweet fluff, no rewriting, not edited we die like men, previous sensory deprivation, season 7, shangst, yeah this is a weird kick, you forget how to live as a person in physical space
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-27
Updated: 2018-09-27
Packaged: 2019-07-18 04:30:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 756
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16110845
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_lovely_noodles/pseuds/The_lovely_noodles
Summary: "Shiro sits there, still as a rock and he’s listening to his heart beat hard and painful in his chest, keeps his breath held until he realizes that his lungs ache."Returning from being a metaphysical entity within the Black Lion has its consequences.  Shiro learns to be human again.





	Horizon

**Author's Note:**

> This one was a doozy! For badthingshappen bingo starring Touch- Starvation and sensory deprivation! The two go hand in hand!

Waking up again was like crawling to a bright point on a lit horizon, seizing control, fighting the claustrophobic dark that was his brain.  His eyes opened and he was _awake,_ the memories of his clone merging with his own; widening a gap that he knew was there but was now even more prominent than before.  

 

Shiro never considered that living was actually pretty fucking difficult.  

 

He’s waking again, his body dragging himself from a black dreamless sleep to staring up at a violet ceiling.  Shiro tilts his head in his cot, finds Keith fast asleep at the cockpit. He sits up, bleary, pursing his lips tight to keep from groaning at the creak in his back. Shiro sits there, still as a rock and he’s listening to his heart beat hard and painful in his chest, keeps his breath held until he realizes that his lungs _ache._ Shiro inhales, the rush through his nose delicious and he exhales shakily, jaw aching.  The more he sits in silence, the more he can hear and feel his body working, the rumble of his stomach, the beating of his heart, the roar in his blood.  

 

Shiro glances at the time displayed on the dim dashboard of the black lion, finds that it’s five AM and nearly time to wake up.  He slips out of bed, shuddering when his bare feet touch the metal. He stumbles a little, off kilter from his missing arm. There’s a bad taste in his mouth, his lips are cracked and dry and he needed to piss.  

 

Shiro leaves the cockpit of the Black Lion to its lower compartments, wrinkling his nose and realizing that he smells, and he gets ready, his head already spinning from all of the sensation at once.  

 

He  reminds himself to breathe, clenches his teeth, closes his eyes and revels in how easy air rushes through his lungs.  Shiro’s head no longer spirals from every other sensation. The Lion rumbles like a wind, making a noise in his mind like a chuckle.

 

“Don’t do this to me.”  Shiro mutters at the lion, and Black grumbles again, _it is a consequence…_ comes the thought, but it fades away, fragments to the recesses of Shiro’s mind.  

 

Oh.  A consequence of being in the black lion for so long.  He shivers at the cold, tries hugging himself and he sighs at the sensation.

 

“Shiro?”

 

When he turns around, Keith is standing at the entrance to the second level of the Black Lion, his eyes are gleaming black in the low light, visibly confused.  

“K-Keith.”  Shiro says, hating how he stammers and Keith’s confusion turns to worry.  

 

“What’s wrong?”  Keith asks and he walks up to him, placing a hand gently on his bicep.  Shiro’s throat closes up, wants to melt into the touch. _Quit it,_ he chides himself, _you’re not that desperate._

 

“I--I--” He’s at a loss and Keith places another hand on his shoulder, and Shiro tries to engulf him into a hug.  

 

“Oh!”  Keith manages to say and he sags against Shiro, melting into the hug and digging his face into Shiro’s neck.  Shiro grips him tighter, reveling in the feeling of Keith’s heartbeat against him, how warm his hands feel around him, his breath streaming onto his skin.   _Alive!_ His body seems to scream, _he’s alive! Don’t ever let him go!_

 

It seems as if Keith has a similar sentiment because he tightens his hold on Shiro, hands threading through Shiro’s now white hair, inhaling deep when Shiro does the same.  

 

Keith’s hair is soft! Has it ever been this soft?  Shiro can’t tell-- it’s felt like those memories were years and years ago.  He forgot so much, especially the concept of soft. He preens when Keith pets his hair, fingers rubbing into his scalp.  

 

“I forgot about this.”  Shiro mumbles into Keith’s shoulder and Keith pulls away briefly to look at him.  

 

“Forgot?”  Keith asks and his voice is just about a whisper.  

 

“About this, about all of this.”  Shiro gestures to himself, then to Keith, keeps his arm wrapped around Keith’s waist, “I didn’t feel anything when I while I was in the Black Lion.  Didn’t need to feel anything.”

 

Keith’s eyes flicker in understanding and his fingers settle on the back of Shiro’s neck.  Shiro keens at the touch, holding Keith tighter to him.

 

_How can he forget something so good?_

 

Keith squeezes  his face deeper into Shiro’s neck and Shiro can tell that Keith also doesn’t want to let go.  

He must’ve forgot too.  

  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Hmu @Veltron and @Lungs-n-Langst for more angst and general content. Also help me fill out my bingo card on Veltron! hope you liked this!


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